Jaime Garcia took advantage of the Twins being overaggressive at bat, striking out seven of the first 10 batters, while Ervin Santana pitched well in a ballpark that hasn't been kind to him in the past.

Following a 9-3 drubbing in Game 1, 6-foot-10 pitcher Aaron Slegers gave up only two hits in 6 1/3 innings of his major league debut as the Twins won the first time against Cleveland at Target Field in 10 games.

Until Thursday, Glen Perkins had not stood on the Target Field mound since Oct. 2, 2015, had not worn a Twins uniform since April 10, 2016, and had not been certain he would ever pitch again several times.

Matt Belisle tried to hog the blame for ending the Twins' six-game winning streak on Saturday, tried to soak up all the responsibility for the Twins loosing their grip on a playoff spot after just one day. Yes, well, placing the blame on Belisle requires overlooking a few facts.

Thad Levine said he and Derek Falvey have been impressed with how the Twins responded to the trade of Kintzler and Garcia, going 8-3 to open August and move to the head of a six-team race for the final wild-card spot.

Glen Perkins, who hasn't pitched in a major league game in 16 months after surgery to reattach the labrum in his left shoulder, believes a rehab stint with Class AA Chattanooga next week could be the final step of his long journey back to the Twins.

Bartolo Colon produced a mixed effort in his Twins debut - starting strong but eventually allowing four earned runs in four innings - and manager Paul Molitor said the 44-year-old will make his next scheduled start.

Tuesday's was the first All-Star Game since 2003 that won't have an effect on the postseason — home-field advantage will go to the team with the best record — and you could sense relief among the All-Stars.

"I remember in spring training I told [Santana], 'We're going to the All-Star Game together,' " Sano said. "So I'm glad that it is happening, that we get to go together and hopefully represent the team well."